CADRE Non-profit Working to Reduce Diabetes Complications

One could argue that despite all the big talk about combating the diabetes epidemic, lots of prominent organizations
seem to be getting very little done. The field of diabetes education is
facing a crisis, with so little professional support and funding to cope with the torrent of new patients coming their way.

For these reasons, I found it very encouraging to discover the Council for the Advancement of Diabetes Research and Education (CADRE), a non-profit organization "committed to
reducing the devastating complications of both type 1 and type 2
diabetes through achievement of tight metabolic control. To achieve
this goal, CADRE provides health care professionals with scientific
information and educational programs to enable them to manage and
empower their patients with diabetes."

Add This Infographic to Your Website or Blog With This Code:

Note the emphasis
on REDUCING COMPLICATIONS. Note the focus on HELPING THE HEALTH PROS TO
HELP PATIENTS. This seems practical and "meaty" enough to be
meaningful. And there's more than just rhetoric on their website.

I browsed through the
"resources" available for downloading, and found not only scientific
journals and university webcasts ("The Evolution of Insulin Therapy,"
etc.) but also a detailed guide to "achieving and sustaining glycemic
control in Type 2 diabetes," for example.

I also found an
extremely thorough 64-slide presentation (!) on the importance of
self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG). I would have thought this was
crazy if I weren't so familiar with the voices speaking out against the value of glucose monitoring. What a relief to know that this high-value
consortium at least is on our side here: current glucose monitors are
good, very good. They help us manage this condition to live and enjoy a fulfilling life; newer, better monitors - including continuous
of course! - will be even better, and even more vital to our well-being
once they're perfected. Admittedly, CADRE is funded in part by the
usual suspects: including Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Bristol-Myers
Squibb, Eli Lilly & Company, GlaxoSmithKline, LifeScan, Merck &
Co., Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Nutrition 21, Pfizer Inc., Sankyo Pharma,
and Sanofi-Aventis. But I only count one actual meter company in that
line-up.

Dr. Steven Edelman of TCOYD (Type 1 himself) recently announced a cooperation between the clinical journal Insulin and the CADRE organization. Having the utmost respect for him, I can
only assume that all these groups' hearts and minds are in the right
place. One small - or possibly middle-sized - step for improved
diabetes education?